Add some water to batter if it seems too stiff. Xanthan needs water to hydrate it. There was no water in the original recipe. I started with a tablespoon, that didn’t seem like enough. I added another and it looked good. Bingo, it cooked up perfectly.

Texture, yeah! It is good!

Not dry, not crumbly, not gooey, not slimy.

These bars are light textured, yet they compress to a pleasant chewiness when you bite into them.

It is fun to serve them with extra chopped peanuts and chocolate chips. (These are not included in the ingredients below.)

This blondie is soft and holds together well. So you can press the edge of the bar into the extra tasty bits on the plate and they stick. Interactive food, I like that.

Keeping

If there are any bars left over, they last several days without getting dry. Be sure to cover them tightly though.

You can also double the recipe and freeze some for later. Bake in two 8×8 inch pans, or one 9×13 inch pan. When I double the recipe I use 3 whole eggs, instead of 2 whole eggs and 2 egg whites. It is just easier.

Additional changes

I added chopped peanuts to the original recipe for more crunch and flavor. And reduced the total sugar, switching to dark brown sugar instead of white sugar. These are still plenty sweet for me.

We used to call them frozen bananas with peanut butter and dark chocolate. Not a very catchy name. Our clients kids said, “Those are monkey tails!” It was easy to agree.

They are fun to make with kids and build a stash in the freezer. Pull them out as needed to cool a sweltering day.

Nutrition in the ingredients- one by one

Bananas- a good source of vitamin B6, vitamin C, potassium, and fiber.

Peanut butter- a good source of niacin (a B vitamin), vitamin E, magnesium, and the antioxidant selenium. You also get some protein.

Dark chocolate-antioxidants and some fiber!! Also many minerals, including iron and magnesium.

But I can’t eat PB.

Use another nut or seed butter instead. Almond, cashew, hazelnut, macadamia, pecan, sesame (tahini). Whatever you like. They will taste different, but still delicious.

Dark chocolate scares me.

These are dark monkeys, not milky monkeys. Go ahead, try it. Dark chocolate is a perfect complement to the sweet banana and the creamy peanut butter. Making these with milk chocolate seems like a crime to me.

Monkey Tails serves 4

ingredients

metric measures

4 almost ripe bananas

about 120 gm each

8 wooden sticks

8

1 cup peanut butter

375 gm

1 ½ cup chocolate chips

225 gm

1 tablespoon oil

15 ml

Cut bananas crosswise into two tails (halves) and insert stick into cut ends. Then peel bananas.

Spread peanut butter (or other nut/seed butter) over each banana. Place bananas on plastic wrap lined cookie sheet and freeze until cold, at least one hour.

Place chocolate chips and oil in a microwave safe bowl. Warm in 20-second intervals until the chips are melted and smooth. The chips can melt without losing their shape, so be sure to stir after each heating.

Spread chocolate over the frozen bananas. Return to freezer for about 10 minutes, or until the chocolate is firm.

Wrap in plastic wrap if not eating right away. Store wrapped bananas in a freezer container. Loose Monkey Tails tend to stray to the far reaches of the freezer. You do not want to find an escapee 2 years from now.

This recipe is easily halved or doubled. How many Monkey Tails do you have at your house?

#1. Numerous scientific studies have shown that eating vinegar with high carbohydrate meals lowers blood sugar and insulin response after the meal.

So many gluten free products are loaded with highly refined starches. Switching to whole grains helps improve blood sugar. Maybe you have noticed that recipes posted here are likely to be whole grain. Simply adding vinegar to a meal also helps.

#2. You will feel full longer after a meal that contains vinegar. This can be important if you are trying to watch your weight and eat less.

Kinds of vinegar

Rice vinegar has the mildest flavor. You can buy it plain or seasoned. Sugar and salt are added to the seasoned variety. Plain white rice vinegar is the most useful, you can add sugar and salt as needed.

Golden hued apple cider vinegar tastes slight fruity.

Clear distilled white vinegar is a bit harsher in flavor, and is super inexpensive. The lack of color makes it versatile and other ingredients can mellow the flavor.

There are other vinegars worth trying too. Balsamic is dark, sweet and syrupy. Sherry vinegar is complex and potent, a little goes a long way. Both of these can be expensive, but worth it. Bottles of each are waiting in my fridge right now, to be splashed on garden veggies or to perk up a pan sauce.

Today we have three easy vinaigrettes to suit every taste. You can pass on the readymade stuff in the store. These take only minutes to make and cost just pennies. Adjust the recipes to your tastes. Feel free to substitute rice vinegar in any recipe where you want mild flavor. Or add more vinegar for a puckery zip.

Crystal Dressing

¼ cup rice vinegar

2 tablespoons sugar, Splenda or honey

¼ cup canola oil or walnut oil

In a small bowl, mix rice vinegar and sweetener. Allow to sit for a few minutes so the sugar (if using) can dissolve. Add the oil and stir briskly. This is really a treat with walnut oil if you can get it.

We originally used this with spinach salad that included berries, toasted whole almonds, and creamy goat cheese. We had a client who loved it so much he put it on everything, really everything. Maybe that is a bit much, but it does add a sodium free sweet-sour punch to salads, grains and veggies.

Orange Mustard Salad Dressing

Adapted from Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home by Deborah Madison

1/3 cup orange juice concentrate

3-4 tablespoons vinegar

2 tsp Dijon mustard

Mix it up. You can add oil if you like more calories.

There is always a supply of OJ concentrate in our freezer. It is easy to scoop out only what you need, put the lid back on it and tuck it back into the freezer.